McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,370 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,225,000. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.0% of McLaughlin Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares during the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% during the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,091,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,215,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.7%
Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $577.22 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $621.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $634.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.
Meta Platforms News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its AI infrastructure by signing new computing deals with Crusoe, which should help support its long-term AI buildout and capacity needs. Reuters: Meta signs new AI computing deals with data center firm Crusoe
- Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to strengthen its AI-led growth narrative through data center expansion in India and new creator-focused AI tools on Facebook, both of which could improve engagement and future monetization. Insider Monkey: Meta rolls out new AI features on Facebook for content creators
- Positive Sentiment: Threads has reached 500 million monthly active users, and Meta is adding new community and feed features, reinforcing the company’s platform growth beyond Facebook and Instagram. Yahoo Finance: Meta reaches 500 million Threads users
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s COO Javier Olivan disclosed another pre-planned stock sale, which is notable but not necessarily a fundamental signal since it was executed under a 10b5-1 plan. InsiderTrades: Meta COO sells stock
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s dividend and long-term shareholder-return profile are supportive, but this is unlikely to be the main short-term stock driver. Finbold: Meta to pay dividends next week
- Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Meta is lobbying Congress for legal protection from child-harm lawsuits, keeping regulatory and litigation risk in focus for investors. Reuters: Meta lobbies Congress for protection from child-harm lawsuits
- Negative Sentiment: Concerns around AI execution also weighed on sentiment after Reuters said a key executive overseeing Meta’s “AI for work” transformation is leaving the company. Reuters: Meta head of product for AI for work transformation is leaving company
- Negative Sentiment: Meta was also hit by reports that attackers exploited its AI customer support chatbot to compromise Instagram accounts, raising trust and security concerns around its AI tools. Yahoo Finance: Meta faces AI support breach as key internal AI executive exits
Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms
In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,568 shares of company stock worth $25,057,365. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.
Read Our Latest Analysis on META
Meta Platforms Profile
Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.
Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.
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